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Quick Service Seating Rules in Effect

Quick Service Rules in Effect:

1) The "no saving tables" rule is in effect.
2) You may not get a table without your food-in-hand.
3) Thus, one guest can't get a table while others stand in the food line.
4) There is a CM that will show your whole party to the table.
5) Once you have your food.

NOTE: The rule includes people who have kids in strollers and want to get a table before they get their food. In fact, in a lot of QS eateries, strollers are now not allowed due to the adding of extra tables cutting available aisle space. THIS IS A GOOD RULE, as it has shown to cut down people waiting for tables when others have used them while not eating.

Gee, I can't wait to see what my wife says when we order our food at Pecos Bill's Cafe, I stay in line to carry the food, she goes and gets a table with the kids (5 and under), and a CM says "you can't sit without food". After a long day in the parks, and she being with child (5 months along at the time of our trip), that may not go so well. Yikes. I only hope it's over by the time I get there.

All kidding aside, I don't know that this is a great policy. Do I have my kids and wife find a seat where they can be contained, or do I let them crash into everyone else in line for the 5-10 minutes I wait on our food?

Also, if the aisles are too narrow for strollers, then they're too narrow for wheelchairs and ECVs. Pretty sure that's not gonna happen.

This makes sense for the extreme-crowd Holiday seasons, which may only last a few days at a time. But doing this any other time seems like it would create a lot of unneeded confrontations.

It means that when you need a table, there will be one.
Its a good rule. If a family sits at a table for 15 minutes before food arrives, and leaves 15 minutes after food arrives, that means half the tables are not being used for eating. There are benches outside for people who need to rest.

So what does this mean for the lines to get food? Will the lines be filled with families or will there be groups of people standing around blocking doorways/entrances or making it hard to get to the line to order food while one or two people get the food? Where will they let members of a group wait while another gets the food?

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So what does this mean for the lines to get food? Will the lines be filled with families or will there be groups of people standing around blocking doorways or making it hard to get to the line to order food while one or two people get the food?

That's my first reaction as well. If a family of five can't be seated until they get the food, does that nean the whole family is in line which means the line will be out the door and you can't really judge how long it will take you to get to the front of the line? Guess, I'm not really understanding how this system works better than "I'll have a burger and fries and will go find a table while you order the food"?!

I don't like this at all. I think it is much better to herd the kiddies to a table instead of them being under foot in line. I hope this is just peak crowd time! I always get a table while my husband gets the food. It is first come first serve and it seems undisney-like for a cast member to tell someone they can't sit down for whatever reason. The expecting? the elderly? hot tired kids crying with mommie at her wits end. Not cool!

I was just at WDW, traveling by myself with my two young boys. A big pet peeve of mine is people saving tables while someone else is getting the food. Typically (when my husband is with us), he stands in line and I stand off to the side with my children until the food is ready and we can help him carry it and find a table. Too often, we can't find one because other people are saving them. For this very reason, I'm glad the rules have changed.

However, others here have brought up a very good point. What does the rest of the family do while one person is getting food? When my husband is with us, we figure it out. But when I was there by myself with a 6 and 7 yr. old they stayed in line with me. It was crowded. It was tight. I annoyed more than a few other guests because I had my children crowding the line with me. And I was a nervous wreck trying to keep them from stepping in front of someone jostling a tray full of food and drink.

It's definitely a tricky situation. I'll be curious how Disney CMs and guests work it all out.

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While I understand everyone's concerns, I'm very grateful for this new rule. When I am walking around with my tray of food, I would like to sit down and eat. I get so tired of seeing people rush ahead of me to grab the last table and their order person is so far back in line that I could be done eating before their food even gets there. If people are tired, they should go get their food sooner and then, sit down and eat.
I'm sure Disney is working it out so that the line is orderly, or at least somewhat orderly. I'll see how it goes in January.

It works fantastic! I noted this on my July trip and i was very happy to finally eat a Pecos Bill Burger while it was still hot!

Few things make me madder than seeing a bunch of people holding tables without a lick of food while I try to rummage around through 12 different rooms of tables with a tray full of food, drinks tettering on the edge and trying to avoid someone elses rugrats running around under foot. More often than not I do get a table but not before my food is cold and my fries are soggy.

This is one good change I've seen at WDW eateries! I hope they keep it up...

. . . this week is not a "high" week, and it is in effect
. . . it DOES work very well
. . . they do make an exception for a couple with a wheelchair.
. . . one can be seated while the other gets the food
. . . but, a group with one wheelchair, no
. . . there are ample people to carry the food
. . . this relieves the stress for tables
. . . like it or not, it is in effect
. . . and, there is only one entrance into the seating area
. . . a CM stands to make sure you have food to enter
. . . another CM will show you to your table

NOTE: To take up a table when not actually eating slows the table-turns, so fewer people can sit an eat. If people do not want to follow the rules, the CM at the head of the line simple tells them there are other places they are free to dine.

Honestly, I think this is a GREAT idea! Not only is it courteous to the people with food in hand, what a great feeling knowing when I'm carrying that heavy tray, a CM is going to find a table for me! I for one love the idea!

Obviously there were enough complaints about this that Disney decided to take corrective action.

The two places in MK that are the worst for finding a table for our family of three are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays. Sounds like families will be able to wait near the entrance to the dining area and go in when their group's food orderer brings their tray of food over. Perhaps they can have benches or chairs near the entry area or outside the restaurant for infirmed or excessively tired people to sit.

Once people know the new rules (and they are consistently enforced) I'm sure it'll work.

If people need a place to rest there are plenty of places around the park to sit for 10-15 minutes so I don't think using the tables at CS locations is the place for that. Kids and parents don't suddenly get exhausted and cranky to the point where they NEED a table to sit at when mom or dad says "find a table while I go get the food."

I love that they put these rules in effect. When we ate at Pecos Bill in July it was packed! There were no tables to sit and we had to stand around and wait for people to leave and our food got cold. I noticed there were multiple tables that one person was holding while the rest of their party was getting the food. Like many other posters said, we could've eaten our food (hot!) and been done by the time the rest of their party arrived with the food. We have gone on trips with the kids and they wait in line with us to get our food. Kids have a funny way of changing their mind when its actually time to order, so we found it to be easier to have them with us anyway. They have to wait in line to ride the rides, they have to wait in line to get their food to eat. We have always told our kids to be patient. So count us in, we are all for this!!!

I heard about this a while back. It sounds plausible. We always did the divide and conquer bit. I apologize to anyone I offended when holding a table, it seemed efficient at the time.
I hope more people chime in with their experiences with the changes.

Hmm, I didn't realize there was a rule about this. Are there signs posted anywhere?

I'm just wondering how it would work then, say, at the American pavilion in Epcot.

My husband goes up to the counter to order, while my kids and I wait along the wall in the dining hall (with presumably 15 other families waiting for their husbands to stroll back with the food). Isn't that just moving people off to the side but still causing a problem? What happens when the marching soldiers come through with their drums and flutes through the restaurant and we're all waiting there in the way?
Or are we supposed to wait outside, and periodically open the doors and check if hubby's got the tray of food yet?
Or, are we supposed to all get in line to order the food, and somehow squeeze through all the people with our large group up to the counter to pick up our tray (imagine our family of 4, plus Grandma & Grandpa with us as well).
I'm not saying that in a snarky manner - I'm truly curious as to what we should do because I want to avoid the embarrassment of a CM coming and telling me I'm doing something wrong.

I completely understand not wanting 50 people hogging tables while they're not eating, but those 50 have to wait somewhere for their food... so it just seems like they're trading one problem for another.